DepEd cool to moving school opening to Sept

By Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines - Moving the opening of classes from June to September because of the weather may benefit some places like the National Capital Region (NCR) but not the whole country, according to the Department of Education.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro noted differences in weather patterns in different parts of the Philippines.

"Obviously, we cannot have a different start of the school year recognizing that the country may have different ways of experiencing the weather," he said during an education committee hearing on Tuesday.

Earlier in the hearing, an official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) described differences in climate types in the western and eastern parts of the country based on historical data.

Flaviana Hilario, Pagasa's acting deputy administrator for research and development, said the rainy season in the western section peaks from May to September. This includes the NCR, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Cavite, Zambales, and Tarlac, among others.

On the other hand, the country's eastern section--including Aurora, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, and others--experiences the most rains from October to January.